March 4th, 2027.
We climbed out of the river gasping and panting. We all dragged ourselves out and laid out on the grass staring up at the sky as the sun beat down on us.
"Get Sierra and I'll look for knights." I got up and started walking around. I looked up at the waterfall we fell from, then back at the river we got washed up in. We set camp up and started a fire attempting to warming up and dry off.
"You mean to tell me, you threw me off a waterfall?" Sierra snapped at us.
"Yes."
"You couldn't just light a fire under me?"
"We didn't want to cause harm to your body, the info broker said we had to melt it." Sterling explained.
"Do you even know where we are?"
We stopped for a moment and looked around. I looked back at the water fall, then down the river.
"We head south." I said.
"And just exactly how do you know that?" Sierra said. She looked at me with anger in her eyes for a moment.
"You learn a lot from level 16."
"This is level 13, its not the same as zombie land. This is the land of the fairies try again."
"Fine." I said.
Don't treat me like a stranger. Come on, you know me. Look at me. Sierra you know me.
I took my helmet off and gripped it in my hands.
"I know what I'm talking about okay. We need to head south."
"You expect me to trust you? How do I know this isn't a trap?"
"You know what fine!" I stormed off, "I'll go out by myself."
"And bring the knights here?" She snapped at me, but I ignored her. "Hey get back here!" She yelled at me repeatedly. I kept walking.
"Whoa!" I heard Sterling yell as an arrow found its way in to my lower leg. I hit the ground groaning in pain while looking at the arrow that had shot through my leg.
"Ahhh fuck!" Sierra walked over to me and looked me in the eye.
"You're still owe us a debt."
"Are you alright?" Sterling ran over to me and helped me up off the ground.
"Argh! what the- what the hell?!"
"Don't move, at least not too much." He carried me back over to the fire and set me up right on the ground. I looked at the arrow head sticking out of my shin and I couldn't help but freak out a little.
Sterling looked at it and then handed me a piece of bread.
"Bite this." He ordered.
"Oh, okay." I said putting it in my mouth. I bit down on it like he said to.
"You'll have to forgive her its-she was frozen fifteen minuets ago."
"I know but- Ahhhh holy shit! What-why!" Sterling was holding the arrow that was once in my leg in front of my face.
"The hell did you do that for?"
"You wanted it to stay in there?"
"I did." Sierra said as Sterling used his first aid to heal my leg. My life levels revived and I was back to normal, well almost. I was still in shock at the fact that she shot me in the leg. I kept looking at it trying to figure it out how the hole in my leg was now gone.
"You alright?" Sterling asked me, I looked at him then back at my leg.
"No, no I'm not. She shot me, like full on shot me point blank."
"She had her reason. I'm not saying it was a good reason, it defiantly was an insane reason."
I laid back and looked up at the sky feeling hopeless at this point. I had no idea what to do.
Where are you Ashton when I need you? Tell me what to do?
"What am I going to do?" I groaned.
Sierra left to go find fire wood leaving Sterling and I by the camp fire to talk by ourselves.
"Well for starters running away isn't an option." Sterling blurted out. I sat up and looked at him and found him giving me a serious look.
"I don't know who you are, but if you want to prove to Kyoko that you are the Ethan Hunt you say you are you need to stay. Leaving won't solve anything."
"Damn it!" Sterling was right. "But,"
"A man once said 'An enemy will lie forever and everyone will see it, but a friend will never lie but no one sees it." Then he looked at me and nudged me to make me look over at Sierra walking over to us with fire wood.
"The transport doors are that way." She pointed north east of us. "We need to head go as soon as possible."
"We'll leave as soon as we can." Sterling told her. She threw the wood down next to us and made her way to the side of the river and sat down.
"Go." Sterling whispered at me.
I looked back at her and shook my head. Okay Ashton, help me out now please. I thought.
"If she shoots me again, I'm going to blame you."
I sat down, at least two feet away, from Sierra by the river. She didn't say anything it was actually really quite and I was feeling really awkward about our silence. Sierra didn't seemed bothered by it at all, she just stared in to the river with a blank expression on her face.
"I still don't trust you." She finally said. I looked at her and saw she was still staring into the river.
"Why is it so hard for you to believe that it's really me?" I begged.
"Because I held Ethan and I watched his soul leave his eyes and he died in my arms and I had to burry him. Once you die, you die that's all there is too it."
"Do you believe in miracles?" I asked her. There was a long moment of silence between us and I was worried I had said something wrong.
"I don't believe you when you say that you're Ethan Hunt, but I will put my trust in you on the battle field." She said getting up off the ground extending her hand to me. I put my hand in hers and she helped me up.
"We need leave now." She said. And that's what we did. I don't know if that talk made anything better, but I know something changed, even though it was just a little. The three of us found the transport doors and made our way to level 14. As usual there was a moment white light that blinded us for a second, but when we got through the door on to the other side it was like we walked into chaos itself.
